Programming Spotlight: Faculty Library Champions

Dear Readers,

This month's Programming Spotlight features Advent Health University's new Faculty Library Champions program, courtesy of Jessica Daly, MLS. If you have a program or event that you would like to share with your colleagues, please submit the information to:  [email protected]

Enjoy! - Courtney Pyche

Q:  What motivated or inspired this project? 
A: After the pandemic, I quickly realized the relationship between patrons and the library had changed roles.  Pre-pandemic our patrons came to us. There was no need to promote the resources and services of the academic library because students just knew where it was physically and how to use our resources and services.  We relied on word of mouth within our campus community.  Post-pandemic it is now our job, as library staff and faculty, to bring our resources and services to our patrons.  I realized our library had to begin reaching out and marketing to our students and faculty to increase usage of resources and services.  The library had to stay relevant which meant learning how to market the library, which was a skill I had to learn.
 
I began by research marketing strategies and quickly realized all major products or companies have “celebrity” or well-known people who act as their representatives.  I began to think about who our university celebrities would be.  I asked the question, “Who do our students and faculty look to for information and trends within our campus?”  The answer, for me, was well respected and liked professors! Hence the creation of the Faculty Library Program.
 
Q: How did you encourage or solicit responses? Were they quick to respond?  
A: I created a short promotional video inviting all faculty to participate.  I then sent this video as an attachment to an email explaining what being a Faculty Library Champion included.  Participants were asked to share their professional headshot along with a personal quote about the library, our resources, and/or our services. 
 
My goal was 5 participants and I received 7! Since the launch of the program in December 2022 I have added two more faculty, who reached out to me in interest.  I heard back from my original 7 faculty members within a few weeks’ time, which allowed me to begin using this promotion in January of this year.  You can view their advertising video at the bottom of this page. Some of their quotes included below:

“AHU library is a one-stop-shop for resourceful services and supports. AHU librarians are the best! They are knowledgeable and always go above and beyond to help me and the students keep up to date with new research papers.”
Dr. Chia-Wei Fan

“Access Medicine / Case Files was utilized heavily and appreciated by the students. I wanted to thank the library for bringing that resource online to offer to our students. It has been an excellent addition that we now utilize as part of our required curriculum and that students use to guide their studies/preparation. So, THANK YOU!!”
Dr. Edgar 

“The librarians are an invaluable resource for my students. They provide a live presentation on the library databases and search methods for finding relevant nursing research articles. Their assistance is crucial for my student success.”
Dr. Patricia Clayton-Levasseur

Q: What advice would you give to someone who may want to implement a similar program at their library?
A: My advice to those interested in implementing a similar program is to begin with your most dedicated patrons.  Each library has a unique group of users.  For an academic library it could be professors, leadership, student representatives, or alumni.  For the public library it could be community leaders, government officials, religious leaders, and business leaders.  I would also encourage public libraries to use their most popular patrons.  For example, maybe you have a senior citizen that loves the library and lives within an assisted living community where they could be an amazing representative encouraging fellow residents to use the library.  Another idea would be electing a popular mom who always brings her kiddos to the events for children as a library champion.  She could spread the word in her neighborhood, children’s school, or even the local women’s club.  Be strategic when asking people to become library champions.  Remember they must represent your library in the most positive way possible.  
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